Pomegranate
by One More Disaster
Summary: "Taste the Rainbow" 'verse. A collection of character study oneshots about the Red Rangers, an episode at a time.


**Title: **Pomegranate  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I do not own any person, place or thing you may recognize.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Ranger related violence; language  
><strong>Series: <strong>Taste the Rainbow  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Jason Scott, Rocky DeSantos, Rocko (Wild West Ranger), Aurico (Alien Ranger), Tommy Oliver, TJ Johnson, Andros, Leo Corbett, Carter Grayson, Alex (Time Force), Wesley Collins, Eric Meyers, Cole Evans, Shane Clarke, Conner McKnight, Charlie (SPD A-Squad), Jack Landors, Sky Tate, Bridge Carson, Nick Russell, Mack Hartford, Casey Rhodes, Scott Truman, Jayden Shiba, Lauren Shiba and Troy Burrows; with mentions of and appearances by the various other Rangers, Mentors, Allies, Civilians and Villains  
><strong>Spoilers: <strong>Eventual for all 20 seasons  
><strong>Author's Note: <strong>So, this was an idea I had a while ago to write an episode tag oneshot with a focus on each of the Rangers. This series isn't something that's a priority, so updates will be as I have both the time and inclination. This particular piece will focus on all the Red Rangers, including Eric Meyers (despite his official designation being the Quantum Ranger because he is never fully part of the team). Hunter Bradley and Leanbow will be posted under other categories, as neither one of them is an actual Red Ranger.

Anyway, let me know what y'all think.

Fae

* * *

><p><strong>Title: <strong>Day of the Dumpster  
><strong>Character: <strong>Jason Scott  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>680

Jason loved the Youth Centre. He and his friends had such different interests and the Youth Centre offered something for all of them to enjoy.

There was Trini over on one of the smaller mats, running through her tai chi while Kim was across the room on the balance beam. There was gym equipment for Jason to lift weights and a large mat for martial arts training and classes. There was even a rudimentary DJ booth for Zack to mix some jams and space for him to break down.

And, of course, there was the juice bar itself for snacks and drinks, with enough room to spread out for homework. That's where Billy was most often found, although Jason didn't see him at the moment. He did see Ernie, though, wandering around and delivering drinks. Ernie was great. No matter what, he was always there with a listening ear and even a shoulder to cry on, if necessary.

So, yeah. Jason loved the Youth Centre.

Right now, he was killing time, waiting for his class to start. He was sparring with Zack and he really needed to pay attention. It wasn't that Zack was a real threat, skill wise. In sanctioned matches, martial arts only, Zack never stood a chance.

But Zack had been dancing just as long as Jason had been in martial arts and Zack always threw hip hop moves into his style when they sparred. Jason still always won, but the unexpected movements kept him on his toes, forcing him to pay attention at all times.

Like all of their past spars, however, this one once again ended with Zack on the ground.

"Hey, good spar, man," Zack said as Jason helped him up.

"Definitely. You get better every time we do this."

"One of these days, I'm going to beat you."

"In your dreams, maybe," Jason retorted with a grin.

"Hey, it could happen," Zack protested with a matching grin before sobering slightly. "Hey, check it out," he said, jerking his head towards the girls.

Jason looked over and frowned slightly when he saw Bulk and Skull bothering them. He wanted to go over there and help them out, but there were two problems with that. One, his intermediate students had shown up and he needed to get the class started.

And two, the last time he had interfered in a confrontation between the girls and the two bullies, Kim had kicked his ass herself. As his best friend had angrily pointed out, the two of them were more than capable of taking care of themselves.

Still, he kept an eye on the situation as he started the class and had to look away to hide his smirk when Bulk and Skull rushed the girls, who used the bullies' momentum against them, flipping them onto their backs. When would those two ever learn? Not only were the girls not interested, but pushing the issue only resulted in humiliation for Bulk and Skull.

He couldn't hear what Kim and Trini said to the two teens on the floor, but he was inwardly relieved when he saw Zack go over and stand behind them, a hand on each of their shoulders in silent support, just in case Bulk and Skull decided to try and escalate things even further.

They didn't, and Jason lost track of them as the class finished with the warm-ups and got down to the heavier stuff. Almost an hour later, he dismissed the intermediate students and welcomed the beginners, including-

Huh. Well, that explained where Billy had disappeared to earlier.

Well, then. This ought to be interesting. He knew that his academically inclined friend could master the basics of martial arts if he just put his mind to it. The problem was that Billy didn't have much faith in himself outside of his scholastic pursuits. Hopefully he could get some of his own faith in Billy's abilities through to the blond over the course of this class.

He watched the class run through the second kata, wincing slightly when Billy got turned around and frustrated with himself. He told the other students to hold up and moved over to help his friend. He walked Billy through the steps he was having trouble with, only for Billy to get fed up and give up.

Jason sighed and shook his head. He knew it was no use to push the matter right now. He'd have to work with Billy on this outside of class. He went back to the front and asked the class a question, calling on Billy to try and end the class on a high note for his friend.

Just as he suspected, Billy knew the exact answer, almost word for word, and he smiled slightly.

He got ready to dismiss the class, but before he could, Bulk and Skull pushed their way through the students and stopped next to him. Bulk said something about teaching them to beat people up and Jason could only roll his eyes. That wasn't the point of martial arts and there was no way he'd ever teach someone to do that.

However…

"Okay, Bulk. I think you guys are ready for something more advanced. Try this. It's a side kick." He demonstrated the kick, then stepped back and let Bulk try.

The bigger teen managed a halfway decent side kick. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't awful.

"All right. Now this. It's called a tornado kick." He demonstrated this kick, too before stepping back.

Bulk attempted to copy him, only to end up spinning around and landing flat on his back.

Jason coughed to cover up a laugh. "Class dismissed," he said, quickly, turning away so no one would see his grin.

As a black belt, he couldn't condone teaching someone martial arts so they could use it to beat people up. As a teacher, he couldn't show his amusement when his student failed so miserably.

But as the occasional victim of Bulk and Skull's bullying, he couldn't help the satisfaction of getting a bit of passive revenge by providing the means for Bulk to make a fool of himself.

He shook his head and headed for the locker room, mentally preparing what he was going to say to encourage Billy to keep trying.


End file.
